HSV Coupe Reviews

That's before you even fire up the 6.0-litre V8.Bearing in mind that it's one of 100 limited edition HSV GTOs and one of just 25 red ones (the ones that go faster), we can't say that we're surprised.The GTO LE (ours was number 81) could be the last hurrah for the coupe which is not part of the new VE Commodore lineup due for launch later this year.Holden is still exporting the GTO to the States which guarantees supply for a while, but for how long is anyone's guess.According to HSV, production will continue in a "limited fashion" in 2006."This is possible because the HSV Coupe shares certain powertrain components with the export Pontiac GTO for the US Market," it says.After the run of special editions is finished, HSV's Paul McDonnell said production will return to normal, but stumps have been called for August.There's already talk of a new Monaro and of course that means a coupe from HSV to go with it, but even if there is – it's not likely to be a ridgey-didge Commodore based one."That's the end of the model," McDonnell said. "The HSV GTO is effectively the last Aussie coupe."We spent the weekend in the HSV GTO LE only to find ourselves the centre of attention wherever we went.It's an accolade that soon wears thin, especially when every man and his dog wants to race.As an owner you'd also grow paranoid pretty quickly about parking the thing anywhere – but it's all part of the fun.As well as the you-beaut red paint job with white accents, our GTO LE came with matching red Indiana leather trim, enough to put any self-respecting Alfa to shame.There's also a discreet roof spoiler over the rear window instead of the usual boot mounted job, stainless steel dual exhaust system with quad tail pipes and the car sits on spectacular 19-inch 10- spoke alloys with ultra low profile 35 series rubber.This car just oozes machismo.Inside, you get Bluetooth and premium dash highlights as part of the package.Brakes, meanwhile, have been upgraded to an AP Racing 4 Piston Premium System, with adjustable APS suspension system optional – front discs are 343mm are rear are 315mm.Just to cap things off our car came with the Victorian number plates "LSTWO".Power comes from HSV's 297kW LS2 V8.The 6.0 litre LS2 is a lift from the American Corvette and produces 297kW of power at 6000rpm and maximum torque of 530Nm at 4400rpm.Fitted with a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, it accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds.That said, it didn't feel anywhere near as quick as the Senator we drove recently which in auto form is good for 5.1 seconds.A four-speed auto is also available.Like the Senator, it will spin the wheels going from first to second gear, regardless of whether traction control is turned on or off.For such a large engine fuel consumption during testing came in at a respectable 13.8L/100km, with plenty of freeway cruising thrown in – but it will chew through the juice as quickly as you want to go.Our passengers were surprised to find the coupe seats four, not five, people – so it's worth reiterating.For night driving we found the standard lights even with the fogs turned on lack lustre and would have liked to have seen xenon lamps part of the package.The optional sunroof fitted to our test car restricts headroom and the 260 watt Blaupunkt 10-speaker sound system is a bit ordinary when it comes to handling the low notes.The HSV GTO LE is priced from $83,990. 

It's the uncontrollable nature of the beast – and proof positive that somewhere in the Holden/HSV hierarchy is a powerful set of self-assured XX genes able to look at a 297kW badge and not desperately want to squeeze another 3kW from somewhere.That "magic" 300 figure isn't something that seems to concern HSV – particularly now that the Z-series of cars has the thumping 6.0-litre LS2 borrowed from the iconic Corvette.Certainly, the GTO's street cred doesn't appear to suffer from the shortfall. With its twin bonnet scoops, long, low Monaro lines and rather startling Turismo blue colour, the test car turned heads wherever it went.It's a big car with a big heart but surprisingly small luggage capacity.Built to carry four – in two sets of extremely comfortable bucket seats – you'd need to warn your travelling companions to pack lightly and use small bags.Boot space appears to have been traded off to accommodate the full dual-exhaust system, which pops twin pipes out from under either side of the rear skirt.The effect is certainly dramatic, even if the rumble is a little more subdued than most new owners would expect – or want – from a six-litre banger.HSV has done little with the tweaking of the engine donated from the 'Vette and there's no question that the 297kW (OK, you can claim 305kW DIN if you really want but it's not going to show up on the badging) and 530Nm outputs are starting points. There's plenty of room for future "specials".Still, in its present state the package is a very civilised one.The big surprise of the test was that over some 500km of city and highway driving, the LS2 and its four-speed automatic partner returned a civil 14.4L/100km average.The style of driving was very much as an owner would – a lot of steady-as-she-goes, with the occasional enthusiastic moment when circumstances warranted.Steering has a light feel, with the rack somewhat faster than in the donor car. The GTO turns in nicely on its 19-inch rubber and, with traction control off, the rear breaks away progressively when prodded.Great lumps of the engine's torque arrive fairly early in proceedings, peaking at the mid-4000rpm range. The effect is a good launch feel, the ability to squeak the rear rubber changing up to second, and strong acceleration through to something close to the 6500rpm redline.While the exterior of the GTO has been well worked, with an effective package of skirts, scoops and wings that manages to avoid the garish, for an $80,000-odd car, the interior remains only so-so.The dash, instrument display and trim is still Commodore.Drilled aluminium pedals add a bit of flash, the seats are truly good, with plenty of adjustment, support and bolstering, and the six-stacker CD sound system is adequate without being outstanding.While the seats have a good range of adjustment – eight-way for the driver – with three memory positions, it's disappointing that they don't automatically return to position after allowing rear-passenger access. The seats run forward when the seat-back locking catch is released but don't return when the seat-back is returned to upright.